I read the first Baxter/Pratchett Long Earth, haven't read the second one yet. It may just be that I'm not getting long extended times to read it, but Raising Steam doesn't have the same zing that earlier Pratchett had. It's like he had something huge to say and felt rushed to get through it, so there's a lot of telling rather than showing. But I'll give a stronger run-down when I've finished it.